CFC & eOne Partner for Television Adaptation Lab

TORONTO: The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) has teamed up with Entertainment One (eOne) for the creation of the CFC/eOne TV Adaptation Lab, an initiative meant to workshop and develop pilot scripts based on underlying literary works and creative properties with strong adaptation potential for a television show.

CFC/eOne TV Adaptation Lab is slated to launch in Toronto in spring 2016. Select properties and creators will receive support in developing pilot scripts, on an individual basis, with top-level professionals and international experts, as well as access to various case studies to explore different approaches to adapting content for television. The Lab is meant to help participants gain insights into the adaptation process, while deciding the best way to set their properties on the fast track towards series development.

The Lab is open to Canadian content creators who own the rights to their creative properties—including comedy, theater, stand-up, novels, novellas, graphic novels, short stories, zines, web series and video games—that have the potential to be made into a successful TV show. It is designed to support Canadian creatives and give them the chance to potentially land a series deal with eOne. Applications are being accepted until January 11, 2016.

"Producers and broadcasters around the world are setting new standards of excellence in adapting a variety of creative properties into innovative television series of outstanding quality and originality," said John Morayniss, the CEO of eOne Television. "We are thrilled to be partnering with the CFC to accelerate the development of great television content creation in Canada and ultimately bring three world-class projects to life."

Slawko Klymkiw, the CEO of CFC, added: "For some years, it has been a passion of ours at the CFC to develop an adaptation lab. Some of the greatest television around the world has been based on adaptation—books, plays, short stories, comics and so on. Adaptation is a rich vein of development that takes a certain level of skill and expertise. We think that we will incite some real hits through this Lab and our partnership with eOne."